When hospice reverts to the lowest common denominator and leaders obsess about metrics, it's time to speak. Self-inflated leaders assume clinicians give until their backs break, given no raises for years. A clinical ladder is a rainbow’s pot of gold. Others have a sorrier job and must be motivated by money. Abysmal leaders dangle extrinsic rewards for admission, hiring and EDBITA targets. “Sign on” bonuses entice people into a poor work environment. Employees’ voice equals their raise, zero.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Word has it a corporate big chief will visit our hospice site soon. No dates or names have been shared yet but we've been instructed to "clean up" for a visiting corporate dignitary. The latest update from Kindred at Home President David Causby said an opportunity exists to improve relations with senior management.

If we rarely or never see them are we in relationship? If they talk and we only listen are we in relationship? If we are relegated to a once a year survey for feedback is that relationship? What if we see no action taken on concerns shared in the last survey? Is that considered relationship?

I'd be interested in hearing from peers who've experienced recent visits from Kindred executives. What's the tone from up high? What priorities did they share? Feel free to comment or e-mail. It would be interesting and instructive to hear.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Kindred President Ben Breier shared important information for Kindred staff during today's second quarter earnings call. Seeking Alpha's call transcript had the following information from Breier.

Let me start as I usually do by extending my deep appreciation on behalf
of the entire leadership team to our now more than 100,000 teammates
across the country. Each day our partners of Kindred work hard to
improve the lives of the more than one million patients we care for
annually. The excellent care delivery and clinical outcomes we generate
are the direct result of their efforts.

Kindred at Home employees should be aware of our impact on the wider company. President Breier praised us in the call.

Kindred at Home which comprises our home, health, hospice community care
and home base primary care businesses now drives more than one third of
our revenue and half of our consolidated earnings.

Those who came from Gentiva should know our lower health insurance and retirement benefits helped Kindred's bottom line, which we already disproportionately enhance.

We’ve done a great job in terms of continuing to as I talked earlier
drive synergies of Gentiva. I think we’re getting close to the end on
that we’re almost up to the $85 million level there.

In summary, Kindred at Home employees have done great work, most of us have taken it on the chin benefit wise and the company has benefited greatly financially. Surely a reward is coming to the lion's share of Kindred's 100,000 employees? Nope.

... we’re sort of at kind of a run rate on where we think labor is. I am not
sure we’re going to see acceleration, it’s pretty tough and summer
seems to be always the toughest part of the year, labor wise for us,
also people go on vacations, people start to retire, people think about
different things. So I don’t think we contemplated much of a change from
our run rates into our ‘17 guidance.

Employees can sleep fitfully knowing Kindred executives see little they need to do labor wise. Former Gentiva employees may enter 2017 with no retirement match. It's not clear how much worse employer provided health insurance will become but the drop in coverage from Gentiva to Kindred was severe for many of us.

We’re still working on health benefits. And just there’s a lot of moving
parts I think still. But generally those are the pieces that as we
think about getting back to at least $1 billion (of EBITDAR) next year that’s how we
feel pretty good about getting to that point.

If executives feel good that usually translates to lots of employees feeling bad. StrangeTony, you retired at the right time.

Mizuho Securities Sheryl Skolnick recently took Kindred to task for taking liberties with accounting adjustments. President Ben responded to her question on what's driving wide variability in quarterly earnings.

... complex site of the house if you will.

Unfortunately Breier was talking about the company's LTAC business not CFO Stephen Farber's shared driveway. Might his former house sale be part of the guidance for third quarter being lower? It depends on how things roll up.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Securities and Exchange Commission filings indicate three Kindred executives sold stock last week. Those selling include President Ben Breier who sold nearly 5,000 shares on 7-29 for $12.26 per share, leaving him with roughly 680,000 shares.

Chief People Officer Stephen Cunanan sold the next day Oddly his 3,500 shares priced at the exact same level, $12.26 per share. He holds 83,500 shares after the sale.

Executive Vice President Jon Rousseau also sold nearly 4,000 shares on 7-30 for the very same $12.26 per share. His stock holdings stand at nearly 74,000. All three executives sold under Code F, which is for "payment of exercise price or tax liability using portion of securities"

Kindred announces Q2 earnings tomorrow and Mizuho Securities' Sherly Skolnick might be on the call. She asked former Gentiva President Tony Strange challenging questions over the years. It's Ben Breier's turn to talk about what matters to executives. It's clearly their compensation.